Combination door for conveyers.



m. 852,460. I PATENTED MAY 7, 1907.

M. 0. SOHWAB.

COMBINATION DOOR FOR OONVEYERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.11.1906.

2 I it 130 l ,1 A 4 4 llrlllllj Stlldllli, OF liiLTlMOl ll, iii/HEY 1N1),

ASSIGNOR TO GRAVITY ll 3 (lUfv ilill'Olt tltlfilliik il, A (UllPOlllllON OF NEW YORK.

GOlVlE lNATl-ON DQUR FDR CONVEYEFZS no. esenso.

Specification of Letters .E-atent.

Patented May '7', 1907.

implication filed J11 mizu'y 11, 1906. serial No. 295,588.

tion-lliiors lor (Ionveyers, oi which the l'ollowing is a. specification.

My invention relates to grnvity conveyors, particularly of the spiral type, nnd one of its objects is the provision ol simple nnd cliicient means l'or pm'rnitting the insertion ol nrticles into the conveyor without being interlored with by descending nrticlcs in the convcye r from higher elevation.

More particularly it isthe object ol the present invention to provide for a gravity conveyor an inwardly swinging door which will prevent descending nrticlcs lroin interlerirn with the convenient insertion of urti- 31 cles into the eonveyer nt n lOWQI' elevation.

Another object of my invention is to pro- Vide for a gravity conveyor an inwardly swinging door in combinntioi'i with :in nddi tionnl. door on the outside of the conveyor.

Other objects oi the present invention will appear hc'reiinii'tcr, the novel combination of e ei'nents being pointed out in the clnims.

In the nccoinpnnying drawings, lhgure l represents an cleyntlonnl sectional view of o, I spiral gravity conveyor with my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a. side view ol the conveyor and doors: Fig. 3 is n horizontnl section of Fig. 2 taken on the line o-a when the sliding door B is in its lowermost or closed Dosition' and Fi 4 is n detailed iiew' illusrs I l trating the inwl'u'dly swinging door.

In the n-ccomprutying drnwings, 1O designotes a. tubular shell which in this instance is shown cylindrical, and provided with an inner core or post 12) which preferably placed in the center ol' the shell as shown in Fig. 3. interposed between the outer shell and the inner post or tube 13 is a spiral plate 12. This spiral pl ate when secured in position no peers to be twisted in the form of on Archiinedinn screw or in the form of u helix. The spirnl may be supported by the inner post or column 13 or by the shell it), or by both, and the pitch of the spiral nniy be varied is de sired. In fact any form ol conveyor may be used, that here shown being merely by way of illustration.

Only 2L sectional port of the conveyor is shown in this instance, and as passing 5 through the iioors and 30, but obviously sin l conveyor may be extended throughout any desired length or elevation, and is pan ticulurly ndapted to be phtced in department stores for conveying articles from an upper to n lower landing, or in ollice buildings to convey nrticle l'or example, mail matter, from nu upper lending to a mail box. in the basenumt or any lower landing.

lt will be noticed that 1 have illustrated two doors, one an inside door A which is curved to the contour of the shell or tube 10 structed even surface will be presented to the descending sliding packages or articles.

Although the door A is herein shown inclined or in the form of a parallelogram to conform substnntially to the slant of the l spiral 12 opposite the door, the door may be rectangular, or have any other desired and convenient shnpc. in this instance I have shown an inwardly swinging door A as hinged i at :2, 2 to the outer shell 10, and when opened l inwardly, as indicated in Fig. 3 in dotted l lines at A, the door will rest against the cenl tral column or core 13 sons to constitute a stop or shield for preventing descending arso that when the door is closed on un0h' j tieles from rushing through the opening in the conveyor when the door B is open.

, It will be seen that the door A should be so i constructed as to be in engagement with the l spiral 12 through the greater part of its lower edge, so as to prevent smnll articles descendl ing "from above the opening from going under l the door. This is accomplished by cutting i the door A to the slant or incline or the coni veyer so as to conform to the spiral in a dowi'iwnrdly direction.

The hinge. 2 may be each provided with means for automatically closing the door A when articles are not being inserted in the conveyor through the opening closed by said door. This not absolutely necessary however, as descending articles will easily move said door A to closed position when said door is free to 11love. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the door A when closed engages the depending plate 5 which is fastened to the shell 10 just nbovt the opening in the conveyer and acts as a stop for the door. This stop is so arranged that when the door is closed, either by the springs at the hinges 2, 2 or by means of the descending nrticles which are thrown by centrifugal force against the door, the inranged in suitable guides C, C and is held in of a cable E and a fusible joint F.

shell 10.

ner surface of the ,door is preferably flush with the inner surface of the shell so as to not interfere in any way with the free passage of the'articlesin their downward movement. At the outer side of the door A is situate a normally open fire door B, which is ar- The fire door B in this instance moves vertically in grooves G, G of the guides C, C and at a short distance from the shell which distance may be determined by the angle plate 4 secured to the outside of the shell 10, just above the stop plate 5. The downward movement of the door B may be limited by the inclined shelf 3.

The door B is preferably of the same shape as the door A, but of larger dimensions, so that in any event any opening into the con veyer will be entirely closed by the door B on the one hand and the guides C, C, guide late 4, and shelf 3, on the other hand. I ave shown in this instance a sliding door, but other doors automatically released in case of fire may be used if desired. stance, the fire door B could be hinged and held in its open position by the cable or rope E-containing a fusible joint F. This construction is illustrated in my co-pending application for patent, Serial Number 269,572, filed November 2nd, 1904, and renewed July 13th, 1905. I

In Fig. 2 the cable E is fastened to the door B at 6 and passes upwardly over the pulley P and thence downwardly to the weight D which normally maintains the door in an open position so that access may be had into the conveyor through the o )ening there"- in, which is preferably normally closed by the inwardly swinging door A. The pulley P may be pivoted on the bracket 1 secured to the shell 10.

Although I have hercinshown one form of my invention, l desire it to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction disclosed, as various modificationsin the details and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art and still fall within the principles of my invention. Having thus described my invention, what i desire to have protected by Letters Patnts of ti a Unitei States, is:

1. In a convoyer, the combination of a single door for an opening in said conveyor, and

F or ini the conveyor, and a door on the outside of the conveyor for said opening.

3. 1n a conveyer, the combination of a single inwardly swinging door for an opening in the conveyer, and an additional door for said. opening. i. In a conveyor, the combination with normally closed door for an opening in the conveyer, of an additional door for said.

opening normally in open position, and

means for automatically releasing said additional door to closed position. v

5. In a conve'yer, the combination with an inwardly swinging door for an opening in the conveyer, of an additional door onthe outside of the conveyor and for said opening, and means for normally holding said additional door in open position, said means comprising a fusible joint or section for permitting the automatic closing of said additional door spiral blade, an inwardly swinging door for. an opening in the conveyer at or near-the landing, an additional door on the outside of the conveyor, and means for holding said additional door normally in open position, said means comprising a fusible joint or section to. cllect 'theautomatic release of said additional door when said section is closed.

8. in as iral gravity conveyor, the combination wit 1 an outer shell and an inner core, of an interposed spiral blade, an inwardly swinging door above the spiral and conforming substantially to the inclination thereof, a fire door on the outside of the conveyor, and means for normally holding said lire door in open position, said means comprising a fusible connection. to permit the lire door to antoinaticully close any opening into the conveycr when said connection is fused.

9. The combination of a conveyor, and a, single vertically pivoted inwardly movable door for an opening in said conveyor.

10. The combination of a gravity convcyer, and a single vertically pivoted -inwardly swinging door for an opening in the conveyor.

1 1. in a s )iral gravity conveyor, the combination wit 1 an outer shell, ol an inner core, an interposed s iiral tlade, one or more landings, and a sing O vertically pivoted inwardly swinging door for an opening in the conveyor at or near a landing.

12. in a s )iral gravity conveyor, the combination wit 1 an outer shell and an inner core of an interposed spiral blade, and uh inwardly swinging door above the spiral and conveyer conforming substantially to the inclination of the spiral blade, said door being hingedto the conveyer at the side of the opening of higher elevation.

14. The combination with a spiral gravity conveyer comprising an outer shell and a spi- :al blade, of an inwardly swinging door for an opening in the outer shell, said door and opening conforming to the inclination of'the blade, and a stop for, said door to permit the interior surface of the same to be flush with door is "closed.

15. In a s iral gravity conveyer, the combination an inner core, an outer shell and an interposed spiral blade, of an inwardly swinging door for an opening in the outer shell, said door being hinged at the side of the opening of higher elevation and conforming to the inclination of the blade, and a stop device to limit the movement of the .door toward the outside of the conveyer and cause the inner surface of the door to be substantially flush with the interior surface of the outer shell when said door is closed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' MARTIN O. SCHWAB'. Witnesses:

' E. A. RUssELL, W. H. DUNN. 

